This is totally long overdue.  Johanna & Charles had an amazing destination wedding in Palm Springs last year.  40-50 of their closest friends and family drove/flew out and spent an entire weekend with them.  They rented out an entire resort! (more on that in the next post)  Jonathan and I had the luxury of staying there too and what an awesome experience it was to have the entire resort to your party.  We drove in on a Friday for their rehearsal dinner at Mister Parker, at The Parker Hotel.

We started off with some portraits before guests arrived.  One of their favorite things to do is to lounge at the bar with a martini, so what a better way to kick off the day.

I just love the decor at The Parker.

And I love her glasses.

There’s pretty much eye candy every direction you look.

Johanna is just so adorable.  I love how playful they are, but also how hot she can be too.

We also ran into the desert for a few shots.  Can’t be in Palm Springs and not soak in the hot desert, right?  Actually, the weather was nice.  It was fall after all.  And if I remember correctly, it was chilly at night.

I don’t know why I like this next photo.  Something about her carefree spirit wandering and him, though with reservations, still trusting and following.  That’s the same for the opening image too.

And the very iconic front doors of The Parker:

Then we headed back for their rehearsal dinner at Mister Parker.  It’s a little restaurant where the only thing you can see of it from outside is this flashy door.  Black curtains cover the entrance itself and there are no windows inside.   From what the manager told us, lots of celebrities frequent this place because it is so discrete and private.

I love how quirky this place is:

The cocktail area:

The room started to fill up…

The food at Mister Parker was phenomenal, i.e. escargot:

The party ended with an impromptu bachelor/bachelorette party at a somewhat local strip club, but no photos from there. 

Stay tuned for their rustic Moroccan wedding!

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Before I go into this awesome event, let me take you back to the year 1983.  It was Christmas night.  My dad was watching the Lakers play Portland.  My mom was pregnant with my brother.  My mom started to go into labor. and my dad said, “Hold on, there’s only 20 more minutes in the game.” My mom actually waited too!  She ended up needing a c-section, so my brother was born just after mid-night on December 26.  Our family still jokes that my brother could’ve been a Christmas baby.

This fabulous event was put on by none other than Carolyn of The Special Day and Nisie of Nisie’s Enchanted Florist.  These two are unbelievably creative & innovative!  It’s Rex’s 40th birthday and he celebrated in style!  His family enjoyed a weekend getaway at Pelican Hill and watched the Lakers game before dinner.  I got to get some shots before the game was over and guests arrive.

I love the yellow & purple!  Carolyn had a trellis thing built for the hanging ornaments.

Love the tulips!

I got a photo of myself in the yellow ornament. 

I love Nisie’s tablescapes!  She has such an eye!

And I love the basketball cake!  Every detail was perfect!

Carolyn tied in the Lakers theme with Christmas perfectly!   That gorgeous Christmas tree was also done by Nisie.

Guests were sent home with customized wine and Swarovski charms.

During cocktail hour, they had a champagne bar.   That was mine shown above. 

There was fresh fruit purees to mix with the champagne, like blood orange, raspberry, kiwi, and peach.  I had the blood orange and it was yummy!  If I wasn’t working, I would’ve tried all four flavors.  hehe

And the h’dourves were so delicious and well presented.

I must get my dad a cake like this someday.

They had a 5 course dinner and it was SO delicious!  Below was the first course, quail breast.  It was so so good!  My favorite was the black cod.  I dream of it still.  It taste like the Chilean sea bass, but a much more sustainable choice!

I love the custom label on the photo booth photos.  Like I said, every detail was perfect.

The birthday boy, Rex!  Cheers!

And then there was a gelato bar!  4 choices of gelato with fresh fruit toppings!

The amazing woman behind this event, Carolyn, with her sister.  They are so cute!  Again, makes me wish I had a sister.

And the funniest photo booth photos.  That first image says, “Audrey had her first wine today!”  Audrey is their 1 year old.  hehe.

Thanks for letting Jonathan & I be a part of this fun & warm family affair!

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This gig Jill set me up with was for a major pharmaceutical company.  They had a district-wide conference and hired me to take formal group shots for each district, and then cover their opening event, a casino night.  They have such a fun staff!

Here’s Jill at work:

This would be my poker face:

The whole room was like this when Jason (the DJ) played “Sweet Caroline”.  I just pretended they were all serenading me. 

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